500-acre wildfire erupts near Chino Valley

The state's first significant wildfire of the season erupted Tuesday west of Chino Valley.

The wind-driven blaze began flaring up at about 12:30 p.m. on Perkinsville Road. The wildfire had grown to 500 acres by late Tuesday.

Incident Commander Russ Shumate said the fire is devouring grass and brush.

Forestry official Cliff Pearlberg said 100 firefighters on are on scene with small tankers and a large tanker on order.

Pearlberg said there are structures about a half-mile away, but the fire is moving away from that area.

The wildfire comes on the heels of a warning that much of the northern half of Arizona will be ripe for wildfires Tuesday amid strong winds and low humidity.

A wind advisory is in effect for much of Northern Arizona until 8 p.m. There is also a blowing dust advisory in effect, as visibilities have been reduced to as low as 1/2 mile in the Little Colorado River and Chinle Valleys.

To raise awareness of the high fire danger that comes with this warm, dry, windy weather, a red flag warning is in place across Northern Arizona as well.

Expect another round of wind developing late Wednesday night into Thursday, with gusts out of the northeast, even in the Phoenix area.

Stay with cbs5az.com and CBS 5 News for updates on this developing story.

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